Fire department’s get ODNR grant money

Over $52K awarded to rural wildfire fighters

By Tim Colliver - tcolliver@aimmediamidwest.com

Almost one-fifth of the nearly $298,000 in grant money from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry’s Volunteer Fire Assistance Program will benefit several regional fire departments in southwest and southeastern Ohio.

Local first responders in Adams, Ross and Pike counties recently recieved VFAP grants as part of the Division of Forestry’s efforts to give support to local fire departments that forestry Chief Dan Balser called “first responders to wildfires.”

“These VFAP grant projects are focused on supporting rural fire departments and helping them continue their good service to their communities,” he said. “The grants were open to fire departments in Ohio’s wildfire protection area that serve communities with populations of less than 10,000 people.”

An ODNR news release stated that many rural fire departments in Ohio have very tight budgets, and most of their limited resources must be focused on absolute essentials for keeping emergency services up and running.

The Division of Forestry’s VFAP grant program was initiated to allow for cost sharing for important purchases like firefighter personal protective equipment and basic fire suppression equipment, a news release said.

ODNR said the grant money may be used by local fire departments to fund purchases of all-terrain and utility vehicles, slip-in wildfire pump units, wildfire and structure fire personal protective equipment (PPE), Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) radios, tools and other items to support fire and emergency response efforts.

It added that the VFAP grants may also be used to support multi-community projects where several neighboring fire departments work cooperatively toward wider reaching goals and benefits all the jurisdictions involved, with the grants funding up to 50 percent of the total project involved, but not to exceed $10,000.

As previously reported in The Times-Gazette, the wildfire protection area was expanded earlier this year by the ODNR with all of Highland County joining with other counties in the region to foster successful forest management activities, which included a greater policing of burn season laws and times.

Adam Somerville, a natural resources officer with Rocky Fork Lake and Paint Creek Lake State Parks in his jurisdiction, said that state law prohibits open burning during the spring months of March, April and May, and in the fall during October and November between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily.

“The wildland fires we investigate aren’t on the same scale as the ones we saw out west where thousands of acres are involved,” he said. “Typically, here in Ohio we work fires that may be 20 to 50 acres in size, but we have had some bigger ones like the Mitchell Ridge fire in the Pike State Forest a couple of years ago.”

He said violating the open burning law is a third-degree misdemeanor, and if someone is charged and convicted, they could face up to 60 days in jail.